104: Perplexing

Evelyn positioned herself in the library so that as soon as the apartment door opened, she’d hear Andrew’s return. Working in bits and spurts, sprinkling the space in between with brief games and free time, she’d managed to get the children’s homework finished. Now, she waited anxiously, watching the time on the clock’s face as it barely moved with an open book in her lap from which she hadn’t read a single word.

They’d been gone an inordinately long time.

Even if the drive was nearly an hour each way, they’d left over four hours ago. Her mind had begun to play out every horrible scenario it could design, starting with the simplest, that something else terrible had happened while they were driving on the Taconic.

Calm down, she told herself. Stop leaping to the worst conclusions.

Perhaps they’d had to stop for fuel or had a flat tire.

Maybe his mother hadn’t been home and he was waiting for her to return.

Or she was home but visiting w